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taio cruz

Singer/songwriter Bonnie McKee has more in common with Katy Perry than you might think. McKee is credited as a co-writer on some of Perry’s biggest tracks, from “California Gurls” to “Teenage Dream.” But in addition to sharing tracks, both have experienced the rollercoaster of a record label letting them go from a contract.

“I’ve known Katy and Ke$ha since back in the day,” McKee told me in an interview that aired Wednesday on “The Ralphie Show.” “It feels like kind of a badge of honor to be dropped, honestly. It’s like you get to have a trial run and learn all your lessons and everything, and then the next time around you have more experience; you know what to do.”

Perry went through two trial runs before landing at Capitol Records and becoming a household name. McKee, who also penned tracks for Ke$ha, Taio Cruz, and others, was on Warner Brothers before finding her way as a songwriter and eventually her home with Epic Records.
“I don’t get paid to write songs,” McKee claimed of how her particular pay structure works. “I only get publishing (rights).”

Basically, McKee gets no money upfront, but can make a considerable amount of cash on the other end after sales, airplay, placements, and other considerations. The singer now has her own song, “American Girl,” and is working on her first album with Epic. She can only hope the track finds as much success as the eight other chart topping singles she has contributed to.

“It’s a major feat to have anything you write be on the radio,” she said. “I’m incredibly grateful and lucky to have had those opportunities.”

Judging by the lip-sync video released for “American Girl,” McKee’s friends are pretty pumped for her second run as a solo artist. Ke$ha, Tommy Lee, Jason Derulo, Cruz, and Adam Lambert are a few of the celebrities who submitted pieces for the project. Perry also created a lip-sync video, and has been doing a little songwriting of her own recently. “The Ralphie Show” reported that Perry and boyfriend John Mayer co-wrote a track for Mayer’s upcoming album.

I stopped by WBRE’s “PA Live!” for my weekly segment, “The Ralphie Report.” This week, I talked about the upcoming Gym Class Heroes show at East Stroudsberg University, along with new music from Joe Jonas and Taio Cruz.

I appear every Thursday on “PA Live!” – a new, daily show on WBRE that airs weekdays at 4 p.m. The show is co-hosted by Dave Kuharchik and Monica Madeja.

He came to dance, dance, dance, dance… and now, on this new Dr. Luke-produced, Flo Rida-assisted track, he’s paying the price. The song is the first single from Cruz’s forthcoming November LP, tentatively-titled, TY.O.

The demos to this track originally leaked last November… then this past March I played a Luda-less version. Now, the final mix featuring the Atlanta rapper has been released – and will appear on David Guetta’s new album which he’s dropping this August.

Given the day and age we live in, I was more than pleased to feature a song with such an uplifting message as the one found in “Positive.” I don’t think this will be the first single from Taio’s Black and Leather, but I am reading that it will be included on the disc, due out before the end of the year. Cruz performed this track earlier in the week on “American Idol” and also offered it as a free download on iTunes. The reviews of the performance were – wait for it – a little less than positive, but clearly there were some technical difficulties, as by the chorus you could tell producers had Taio’s microphone working and he was singing live.

Apparently original mixes of this track first leaked last November – this version seems final/mastered… it is probably exactly what you would expect from David Guetta and Taio Cruz, and if you’re like me, then that is a good thing.

There are many “YouTube Sensations” these days – people who come from pure obscurity to gain popularity via millions of hits to their various YouTube videos. A majority of these overnight celebrities find fame for every reason except talent.

Count Peter Lee Johnson in the minority.

Johnson is a 20 year-old student at The University of Southern California by way of Seattle. He performs live with “Glee” star Mark Salling – but is gaining notoriety for his violin covers that are posted to YouTube, primarily his take on pop music. Check out a few of my favorites below.

Taio Cruz chatted about his second U.S. single from Rokstarr, “Dynamite”, on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” The party anthem was produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco – and co-written by Max Martin. The three are pop music royality, producing and penning hits for everyone from Britney Spears to ‘N Sync to Katy Perry.